Rouen Cathedral, The Gate and The Tower 1894

This painting of Rouen Cathedral, by Claude Monet, presents us with a façade rendered in a symphony of light and texture. The rough materiality of the paint, applied in short, broken strokes, dissolves the solid form of the cathedral into an almost vibrating surface of color. Monet wasn't merely depicting a building, but rather capturing the ephemeral effects of light and atmosphere on its surface. The architectural details are softened, almost fragmented, suggesting a shift from the concrete to the perceptual. In this way, Monet prefigures later explorations into abstraction, destabilizing the traditional relationship between representation and reality. Notice how the interplay of light and shadow creates a dynamic tension, questioning the stability of our perceptions. Ultimately, the cathedral becomes a subject for the play of light itself, underscoring the modernist concern with the act of seeing as a form of knowledge.